Sensory yesterday released TrulyHandsfree Voice Control 3.0, which now allows users to create their own custom voice triggers and biometric passphrases that identify who they are and unlock features, permit access, or call up customized settings. In previous versions, users were confined to speaking pre-set key phrases to access their devices.

Bernard Brafman, vice president of business development at Sensory, says version 3.0 is the latest in a string of innovations from Sensory around the TrulyHandsFree product line. Version 1.0 introduced single voice trigger technology, used for initial no-buttons-required voice activation of a device. Version 2.0 introduced higher accuracy triggers with multiple phrase/trigger technology that recognizes, analyzes, and responds to dozens of keywords, even from a distance or in noisy environments.

In Version 3.0, the company "added a lot of new stuff" that further enhances the user experience, Brafman says.

The new features in version 3.0 include the following:

Trigger to Search capabilities: The wake-up word can be immediately followed by command phrases. This involves a special module for Android devices that allows users to access Google's voice search engine without stopping after the trigger command and password..

Ultra-Low Power Handsfree Experience through Deeply Embedded Implementations: Sensory is porting its TrulyHandsfree Voice Control to leading IP DSP platforms and many of the low-power processors found in the consumer electronics and mobile ecosystems.

Speaker Verification Passphrases -- preconfigured or customized by the user:Users can create their own personalized wake-up words that respond only to their voice and enables the device to know who the user is. A simple enrollment process implemented on the device allows the user to define their own phrase specific to their own voice -- a "voiceprint" or "passphrase." This ability can unlock the device without the need to touch the device. The software can support multiple users with different passphrases, and can be used to call up appropriate settings, memory, and data associated with each specific user of a shared device.

Sensory's TrulyHandsfree trigger technology has already shipped in 100 million products from manufacturers such as BlueAnt, Hallmark, Kensington, Mattel, Motorola, Pantech, and Samsung. The speaker-independent, language-independent TrulyHandsfree trigger is a low-power, high-accuracy, wake-up word technology that listens for a special "wake-up" phrase, yet ignores all other conversations. These keywords can be combined into a single command and control set.

"Over the past several years, end users became accustomed to speech-controlled devices and demanded the ability to voice-control products without having to touch the device. TrulyHandsfree Voice Control met these needs. Now consumers are saying they want the ability to customize their own wake-up words and they want the products to know who they are by their voice as well as remember their settings and not let others into their histories and data... TrulyHandsfree 3.0 addresses this new consumer demand," said Todd Mozer, CEO of Sensory, in a statement.